Posted March 7, 2021, 5:49 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander T’Aria (XO/ Navigation Officer) (Trin S)
[OOC: This is open to anyone who wants to hop in!]
Daylight filtered through the trees, casting soft shadows onto a quaint garden. It crept over spindly strands of Mah’ta organised in careful rows along its edge and kissed the barely ripened flowers of a plomeek plant. Languidly, it enlivened every drowsy fibre until it was exhausted at the foot of a rubber mat. T’Aria relished the subtle warmth it afforded her toes. Vaguely reminiscent of her homeworld, she found comfort in its embrace. It grounded her.
T’Aria took in a soft breath, filling her lungs with the earth’s herbaceousness. She lifted her hands to her chest, slowly floating to a crouch. Every inhale brought her a step forward, her body slicing through the air in a controlled glide. She seemed to float. Mind sealed from the world, T’Aria obeyed the flow of energy. She lifted until her knees were slightly bent and chased her fingers apart. 1. 2. 3. When she peeled her eyes open, she found herself in her original position - one fist nestled by her side and the other pressed against an invisible shield.
The world remained unchanged. A light breeze nagged at the flowerbeds and teased the serpentine brook weaving through its centre. The grass swayed to an echoless command, and soft, fluffy clouds passed overhead. Peace. She released her breath.
“Someday, you must teach me-” a voice shattered her silence “-whatever that was.”
T’Aria stifled a groan, tugging at the belt of her tunic. She tensed her shoulders and turned to face her newfound company. She’d mastered the art of weaponising splinters of silence into a dark glare, and he was not exempt from its chill. He was never exempt.
“I doubt you possess the discipline for Suus Mahna,” T’Aria shifted to her knees and rolled the mat into a tight coil. She regarded the man - whose lithe, greying features afforded him a sense of (self-proclaimed) wisdom - and shook her head.
“I caught on to yoga, didn’t I?” He challenged, blue eyes shimmering with mischief. “And that demands serious mental discipline.”
“Yoga is the equivalent of Suus Mahna for children, then add training wheels.” She hoisted the mat under her arm and hooked her fingers into her belt. “But yes, you have ‘caught on’ to yoga.”
“Then let’s remove the ‘training wheels’,” a smirk etched into his lips.
“Brother,” T’Aria opened her mouth to argue, but she knew it was futile. Dekun was an obstinate man who refused to back down. Some days she wondered how they were related; others, she saw herself in his willful gaze. She refrained from the urge to quarrel.
“Sister,” the older man coyly grinned and jabbed his head to an eccentric little home just beyond the garden, “ready for breakfast? I made biscuits and tea.”
T’Aria cast her gaze up the trail. He was a splendid cook, she had no reservation about Dekun’s skill, but she didn’t have the time to enjoy a meal with him. “I’m sorry, brother.” She tilted her chin in a slight gesture of remorse. “I have a meeting to attend to.”
“Oh come on.” Dekun rolled his eyes. “You’re leaving for.. who knows how long, tomorrow. Can’t you spare five minutes for your miserable older brother?”
“There’s nothing ‘miserable’ about you,” T’Aria quipped. “I’m sure you can manage one meal alone.”
“Hmph. After all I’ve done for you,” Dekun ‘tsked’ and waved his finger to the clicks of his tongue, “this is how you repay me.”
“Dekun,” T’Aria stopped beside him and rested a petite hand on his shoulder, “you are utterly insufferable.”
“Love you too, sis.” He sang.
His eyes burned into her back as she ascended the steps to what’d become her temporary home. Dekun had been generous to house her during command training. He’d offered support - biscuits while she studied and a strangely skilled sparring partner - and managed to irritate her just enough to keep her on her toes. T’Aria had come to him with a budding sense of empathy and left with a sliver of humanity.
She wouldn’t admit it, both for her pride and Dekun’s whim for taunts, but she’d found solace in his company. Still, his white-picket-fence life and preference for simplicity left T’Aria feeling empty. She didn’t know she could miss a ship as much as she did Chernov. So, as much as she loved her step-brother, T’Aria was ready to return. She’d found a new endeavour - a challenge she hadn’t considered until recommended to her - and a part of her was almost excited.
–
T’Aria rolled her neck to each side and stepped from the transporter pad. She’d forgone mental preparations. If Chernov had endured as the Vulcan remembered her, she trusted forethought would leave her gravely disappointed. And gravely underprepared.
She offered the transporter operative a placid expression, vaguely reminiscent of a smile, and voiced a quick ‘Good morning.’ Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, T’Aria made a swift movement toward the door.
She hadn’t brought much. A few sets of robes and a mat, uniforms and personal items, and - of course - a strangely out-of-place lion she’d been jokingly gifted. It wasn’t much because she didn’t own much. The majority of her belongings had gone with the destruction of Vulcan. She didn’t see the point in lugging around a bunch of replacements.
Tugging at the hem of her tunic, T’Aria took a brief note of the time. 0830. Early, but not intolerably so. She doubted the morning coffee had gone cold. ‘Perfect,’ she mused. The hour lent her the leisure to jog her muscle memory. It’d been well over a year-and-a-half since she’d step foot on Chernov. She trusted it’d be a moment before her feet took over. So, rather than stress herself with time constraints, she kept a moderate pace and wove around what she knew would be the first of several bends.
Lt. Cmdr. T’Aria, incoming XO.
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